Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Technology!

Last year, when someone suggested I wait until Apple came out with their new tablet before committing to an e-reader, I scoffed at the idea. After all, I knew I wanted a NOOK from Barnes & Noble, and I had NO interest in Apple's latest creation. When the iPad came out, I knew I was right that I didn't want that as an e-reader. After all, one of the biggest plusses of the NOOK is that it has e-ink technology that makes if virtually like reading a book on a printed page. The backlit screen of the iPad was not going to work for me. And that name! I made fun of it, along with much of America.

I got my NOOK, and as I have mentioned plenty of times, I love it. I read over fifty books on if last year, most of them for free because of my membership to the Free Library of Philadelphia. I can read the NOOK anywhere, and it fits nicely in a purse or tote bag. If has been indispensable during my elliptical and StairMaster workouts, and on my one plane trip of the year, it meant I didn't have to carry multiple books with me. It was a GREAT purchase.

As 2010 continued, I started to see more and more people with iPads, however, and my curiosity was piqued. And then several of my less tech-savvy co-workers found themselves the proud owners of new iPads and LOVED them, and I decided that if they had iPads, I must have one too. I started planning to buy myself one for my 35th birthday, which is coming up in April. And obviously, I couldn't wait because I am typing this blog entry on my iPad right now.

So far, I am pretty impressed! The first thing I did was sign up for Hulu Plus in order to be able to stream their content to the iPad. I have been watching episodes of 'Grey's Anatomy,' a show I have just recently started to develop an interest in, all week. The clarity of the screen is amazing, and I am loving being able to watch TV shows this way! The next thing I plan to sign up for is Netflix, so I can stream their available content to it as well. And this has also given me the push to get something we can use to stream content to our new TV when we get it, so I have decided to get a Roku player as well. I love all this new technology!

Some might recall that I named my NOOK "Alice Bluebonnet" after one of the two hats in the old Disney short cartoon with the Andrews Sisters providing the vocals. Well, Alice Bluebonnet has been reunited with "Johnny Fedora," in the form of my new iPad.